Osprey Aviation Elite Units SC (2000-2007 OSPREY) comic books 2003-2005
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Issue #9-1ST
$7.50
$7.50
Volume 9 - 1st printing. "No 43 ?Fighting Cocks' Squadron!" Written by Andy Saunders. Art by Chris Davey. Known as the 'Fighting Cocks', No 43 Sqn has been a part of the RAF since 1916, and is still in service today. This volume deals exclusively with the unit's exploits during WW2, covering its service during the evacuation of Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain, as well as the years spent supporting the Allied cause in North Africa and the Mediterranean. Flying Hurricanes from November 1939, and re-equipped with Spitfires in early 1943, 'Fighting Cocks' pilots scored 159 kills during the war and over a dozen of them 'made ace'. This book presents a full picture of the squadron, its men and its aircraft. Softcover, 128 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $25.95.
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Issue #11-1ST
$15.00
Volume 11 - 1st printing. "303rd Bombardment Group!" Written by Brian D O'Neill. Art by Mark Styling. The first title in the Elite Units series to deal with an American bombardment group, this title focuses on the 303rd BG, dubbed the 'Hells Angels.' One of the very first B-17 units assigned to the newly created Eighth Air Force in England in September 1942, the 303rd was in the vanguard of the daylight bombing campaign through to VE-Day. Awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation in January 1944, the 303rd also had two of its aircrewmen presented with the Medal of Honor, Americas ultimate military decoration. Brian O Neill brings the group's colourful combat history to life with a mix of first-hand accounts, raw statistics and concise mission narrative. Softcover, 128 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $25.95.
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Issue #12-1ST
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Volume 12 - 1st printing. "Jagdgeschwader 27 'Afrika'!" By John Weal. Synonymous with the Afrika Korps and the campaign in North Africa, JG 27 provided Rommel's army with fighter protection for virtually the whole 'roller coaster ride that was the war in the Western Desert from 1941-43. Formed in Germany on 1 October 1939 (with Adolf Galland as CO of I.Gruppe), JG 27 saw considerable action both during the Battles of France and Britain, downing 146 aircraft in the latter campaign alone. Sent to North Africa in April 1941, the geschwader had an immediate impact on the campaign, which had up until then been dominated by the Allies. The third volume in the Aviation Elite series on a German fighter geschwader, this book will once again prove popular with Luftwaffe enthusiasts and hobbyists alike. Softcover, 128 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $25.95.
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Issue #13-1ST
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Volume 13 - 1st printing. "Luftwaffe Schlachtgruppen!" By John Weal. TOne of the most important, and yet least publicised, components of the front-line Luftwaffe was the Schlacht, or ground attack, arm. This book details the Schlacht units who were in the thick of the fighting from the first day of the war until the last. They played a vital part in the heady successes of the early Blitzkrieg campaigns and went on to perform an equally essential role in the dark hours of last ditch defence and ultimate defeat. In between, they fought in all defensive battles: on the eastern front at Stalingrad, Kursk and Berlin; in the west, by night, over Normandy, the Ardennes and the Rhine. Softcover, 128 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $25.95.
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Issue #14-1ST
$15.00
$15.00
$11.00
Volume 14 - 1st printing. "49th Fighter Group!" Written by William N Hess. Art by Chris Davey. The 49th FG was sent to Australia in early 1942 to help stem the tide of Japanese conquest in Java. Too late to save the island, the group went into action in the defence of Darwin, Australia, where the Forty-Niners' handful of P-40E Warhawks were thrown into combat alongside survivors from the defeated forces that had fled from the Philippines and Java. This book assesses the outstanding performance of the 49th FG, pitted against superior Japanese forces. By VJ-Day the group had scored 668 aerial victories and won three Distinguished Unit Citations and ten campaign stars for its outstanding efforts. Softcover, 128 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $25.95.
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Issue #15-1ST
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Volume 15 - 1st printing. "Jagdgeschwader 52!" Written by John Weal. Art by John Weal. Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) was the most successful and highest-scoring fighter unit, not just in Germany's World War 2 Luftwaffe, but in the entire annals of aviation history. No other fighter group has ever come close to matching its staggering total of around 9000 enemy aircraft shot down in combat. And yet, because much of that combat took place over the tractless wastes of the Russian front, very little has been written in English about the exploits of this charismatic unit. This book provides a full combat history of JG 52 and its members, including the three top-scoring aces of all time, who claimed a total of 900 victories between them. Softcover, 128 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $25.95.
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Issue #16-1ST
$15.00
Volume 16 - 1st printing. "'Richthofen's Circus'!" Written by Greg VanWyngarden. Art by Harry Dempsey. Undoubtedly the most famous of any nation's aviation units in World War 1 was the legendary Jagdgeschwader Nr 1, or 'The Flying Circus' as its respectful foes labelled it. Germany's first true fighter wing, it would always be associated with its first commander, the charismatic and revered Manfred von Richthofen. JG 1 was formed in July 1917, and for sixteen months the unit's young pilots in their colourful aircraft battled for aerial dominance of the Western Front. From its ranks emerged many of Germany's most successful airmen, including the Red Baron's brother Lothar; Ernst Udet; Werner Voss; Erich Löwenhardt and Hermann Göring. This book charts the World War I experiences of JG 1. Softcover, 128 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $25.95.
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Issue #17-1ST
$15.00
Volume 17 - 1st printing. "SPA124 Lafayette Escadrille!" Written by Jon Guttman. Art by Harry Dempsey. This book tells the story of one of World War I's most famous squadrons, Spa. 124 - the only French squadron made up entirely of American volunteers (save for the commander and executive officer.) Organised in April 1916, the group was successively dubbed the Escadrille Americaine, Escadrille des Volontaires and finally the Escadrille Lafayette. Its achievements were modest, but it included several colourful characters who captured the public imagination and played a major role in gaining American sympathy for the Allied cause. When the United States finally entered the war, many Lafayette veterans helped prepare US Army Air Service and Navy pilots for combat, although a few chose to stay on with the French. Softcover, 128 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $25.95.
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Issue #18-1ST
$15.00
Volume 18 - 1st printing. "Groupe de Combat 12, 'Les Cigognes'!" Written by Jon Guttman. Art by Harry Dempsey. This book traces the combat history of the most famous and highest-scoring fighter group in France's World War I Aviation Militaire. Groupe de Combat 12 boasted the highest-scoring Allied fighter pilot, René Fonck, and France's most celebrated hero of the air, Georges Guynemer. Its ranks included numerous other famous aces, such as Rene's Dorme, Alfred Heurteaux, Albert Deullin, and American volunteers Edwin Parsons and Frank L. Baylies. Additionally, Guynemer was instrumental in developing France's premier series of fighter planes, the SPAD VII, XII, XIII and XVII. Softcover, 128 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $25.95.
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Issue #19-1ST
$15.00
$15.00
Volume 19 - 1st printing. "Jagdgeschwader Nr II Geschwader 'Berthold'!" Written by Greg VanWyngarden. Art by Harry Dempsey. After struggling with inadequate supplies of aircraft and matériel, the veteran pilots of the Geschwader would go on to enjoy incredible successes against French and American opponents in September 1918. Aces who flew the famous blue-fuselaged Fokkers of JG II included such stalwarts as Josef Veltjens (35 kills), Georg von Hantelmann (25 kills), Franz Büchner (40 kills) and Ulrich Neckel (30 kills). This volume contains many first-hand accounts by these and other notable aces, which reveal the esprit de corps and camaraderie these airmen displayed in their struggles against superior numbers up to the war's final grim days. Softcover, 128 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $25.95.
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Issue #20-1ST
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Volume 20 - 1st printing. "Luftwaffe Sturmgruppen!" Written by John Weal. Art by John Weal. The 'storm troopers' of the Luftwaffe, the elite Strumgruppen units comprised the most heavily armed and armoured fighter interceptors ever produced by the Germans. Their role was to smash like a mighty fist through the massed ranks of USAAF daylight bombers. Only volunteers could serve with these elite units, and each pilot was trained to close with the enemy and engage him in extremely short-range combat, attacking from the front and the rear in tight arrowhead formations. In exceptional circumstances pilots would even ram their enemy. This book chronicles the brief, but violent, career of the Sturmgruppen during the dark days of 1944-45, employing first-hand accounts and rare archival photography. Softcover, 128 pages, PC/PB&W Cover price $25.95.
